Telling Secrets to Strangers
by Vicious Grin
Summary: AU. Kagome just won an award earning her a week full of business presentations in New York. She meets an attractive white haired man, but never got his name. Titles based on Self Against City's, Telling Secrets to Strangers CD.
1. Ready and Willing

**YOU KNOW WHAT! SCREW IT!! I gave in. I didn't want to post this until I finished my first story, but that doesn't look like its going to be ending anytime soon... so HERE! I can't wait anymore. The next update prolly wont be until MY birthday, though. haha**

**_This should be interesting._ **

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_7/13/2007_

_I can't believe it!! _

_I, Kagome Higurashi, am actually on this flight!! Typing on this NEW APPLE LAPTOP!! Going to a business competition… all the way in NEW YORK!!! I still can't believe it. Everyone always said I was smart, had good ideas and all that stuff, but I never thought I was THIS good. Of all the kids who applied in Tokyo, I was the ONLY one to win. I mean, they only send two kids from each country to these things. I don't know who the other winner was. I heard he did something with computer programming in Kyoto… or something like that (or maybe it was cars?)… and here I am with nothing more than a simple doll design. I must have done something right because I feel like a lot of other people who had WAY better ideas than me just got cheated out... No. I deserve this. Right? _

_I finally get to go to a meeting in one of those halls I've always seen people in nice suits go in! The 'reserved for whatever meeting' sign is actually intended for me this time. Does that mean I have to dress nice? I mean, all these people still boarding this plane are in nice suits and stuff, and here I am wearing…uhh…a faded black t-shirt, the jacket dad left before he died, and my dark blue pajama pants. Don't blame me!! They told me to dress comfortable!! Its my first time… -.- _

_Well, everyone's almost done boarding the plane now... I think… I should probably stop typing and pay attention- OH LORD! This really hott guy just came in!! He looks different from all the other business dudes in here… like his hair… its super white and LONG… and his eyes are kinda… amber/hazel looking. Fancy. OK, I'm shutting this off for now, I don't want anyone reading this last part. XD_

_---_

"Sir, we're getting ready to take off now. If you'd please find your seat…"

Kagome just closed her laptop when she saw the tall man in white hair make his way down her aisle and was stopped by some short female flight attendant with a high squeaky voice.

'He was just doing that, geez.' she thought.

He nodded to the attendant and lifted his head to look straight into Kagome's eyes.

'What?! Oh lord… don't tell me… HE'S SITTING NEXT TO ME!' She shot her head down and tried to hide the embarrassed look her face seemed to always don with her thick raven black hair.

He made his way next to her and stopped, clearing his throat. "Ahem, I believe I have the window seat."

She looked up and quickly blushed. His body seemed to be made for the navy blue suit he was wearing. Perfectly sculpted and- "Oh! Sorry!" Quickly snapping back to the situation and scrambling out of her seat. She stood up to allow him to make his way across, hearing him grumble something about the 'damn seating.'

Feeling a sudden surge of anger build up in her chest, she decided to be bold and sarcastically told him off. "I'm really sorry, _SIR_. Please excuse whatever clumsiness I might make you endure from me on this flight. This is my first time being on a plane." she said, plopping back down into her seat.

He looked over at her, then at what she was wearing, and nodded his head. "Understandable."

His voice was so monotonous… but she kinda liked it. She quickly forgave him, even though, technically, he didn't apologize.

"Miss?"

It was that stupid flight attendant. Her voice made Kagome cringe, especially when she stood right next to her. She thought she gave off bad vibes, something the girl was quite good at when distinguishing people. Tilting her head to look up at her, she smiled.

The woman handed her a small bag filled with all sorts of toiletries. "Your complimentary travel pack."

She looked confused as the woman handed a same looking bag to the man, bowed, then walked off. He noticed her confusion.

"They do this for all the first class passengers." he told her.

"Oh…" she said, opening the zipper and peeking inside. "what'd you get?"

"Same things as you."

_'Well, duh.'_

He never made much eye contact with her, if any. His head was always just directed straight ahead, not looking at anything in particular. It made her feel a bit awkward.

Another flight attendant came to the front of the plane and began discussing the emergency procedures. The plane began moving as the seat belt light came on and that's when Kagome decided to freak out. Of course, she never showed any signs of fear. She remained silent about it and the other passengers never noticed her. Her method was simple: wiggle around in your seat like a five year old, and when that isn't enough, tap your foot repeatedly on the floor.

"Miss?"

She shook both her legs as the plane started moving down the runway.

A little louder, "Miss??"

Kagome froze and looked over at the man. He looked pretty annoyed.

"Would you mind not shaking so much?"

She sank down in her chair. "Sorry."

The plane moved a little faster. Kagome wiggled around, fixing her seating position, and tried as best she could to remain calm, waiting for the inevitable ear pop. She closed her eyes tight, hoping that would somehow lessen the feeling.

"Miss??" This time his voice sounded more pained.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"You're sitting on my hair."

"Oh crap! I'm so, so sorry!!" She quickly scrambled around and allowed him to pull his hair out from under her. This time the other passengers noticed her and began grumbling to each other. She looked around and blushed. "Maybe I should just find a different seat. I can already I'm going to make your flight miserable, along with those other guys." she said, pointing behind with her thumb.

"I don't mind," he said, looking over at her and placing his right hand over hers. Unfortunately that made her even more nervous.

The plane began to ascend from the ground and Kagome cried a rather loud, and pathetic, shriek. Instinctively, she slid her fingers around his and grabbed tight onto his torso with her other arm. He flinched at first from the sudden advances, but then smirked and wrapped his left arm around her, cuddling her close.

The flight attendant with the high squeaky voice saw this and turned to her coworker.

"Kikyo, look!" She pointed in Kagome's direction. "Is she his girlfriend??"

The other attendant laughed. "That girl is way too young! She's merely here for some award she won, Kagura."

She calmed down a bit. "Well, that's a relief… but they do look a little comfy, no?"

"You worry too much. You know he's never been with another woman since the last one walked out on both him and their daughter." Kikyo taunted.

"Yeah. ...I would never do that."

She rolled her eyes. "I know."

Kagome kept her eyes closed tight and held firm to the man, even as the plane began to fly at its normal level and passengers were beginning to walk around. He chuckled. "Tell me, do you greet all the strangers you meet this way?" His arm was still wrapped around her.

She jumped. "Oh my god!"

Her shout made him flinch. "Please don't yell like that." he said, rubbing his ear. "I AM sitting right next to you."

"Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize anymore, either. I understand the stress of being a first time flyer."

She smiled at him and held out her hand. "Kagome Higurashi."

He raised and eyebrow and shook it. "Higurashi? That name sounds familiar."

"Umm… I come from a long line of… shrine… peoples."

"I'm assuming they never taught you the proper terminology." he chuckled.

She blushed. "Not really…"

"It's alright. I come from some line of Western royalty, but I never bothered looking much into it." He suddenly paused. 'Did I just tell her that?!'

"Royalty, huh?" she laughed, "So you're like… a bajillionaire then, aren't you?"

He smiled. "I make a good amount."

"…riiight."

"What? You don't believe me?"

"No, I believe you make a 'good amount,' but not everyone can afford a Versace suit like the one you're wearing. And from the looks of it," she said, motioning her head, "it looks customized."

"Well, you certainly know your fashion," he told her, pulling out his laptop. "Excuse me for a moment while I get some work done. We will continue this conversation."

She nodded. "Alright."

While the man looked through a bunch of papers and typed for what seemed like hours, even though it was probably only twenty minutes, Kagome looked around the plane at all the other first class passengers. They all wore either black or dark blue suits, were concentrated on some kind of paper or program on their computers, and were all pretty much men. The one woman she thought was another passenger turned out to be one of the three flight attendants.

She smiled smugly to herself. 'I'm the only giiiiirrrrrl. I'm the only giiiiirrrrrl!' she sang repeatedly in her head. 'Wait. I'm the only girl! How weird…'

Hit by a sudden rush of inspiration, and embarrassment for her lack of attire and 'work' to do, she pulled out her laptop, courtesy of the business program she was enrolled in, and continued to write in the Works document she titled _Ready and Willing, _and dubbed as her temporary diary. She looked over her previous paragraph… about the 'tall, hott, white-haired-amber-eyed man' and quickly deleted it in fear that he might decide to glance over and see what she was doing. What she didn't know was that he already saw it long before she even decided to delete said paragraph, and smiled inwardly at himself in the process.

'Kagome Higurashi, huh? This girl is something else... Her business profile consists of nothing but fashion and dolls. Even the layout is different. She isn't like these other teenagers... all either trying to look too professional or desperate for my attention...' He clicked out of the page he was looking at and pretended to busy himself with something else while he watched from the corner of his eye at what she was writing in her little journal.

Kagome was too fixated in her writing to notice any of this.

_Oh my goodness, there's so many business MEN on this plane! I'm in a sea of testosterone! (Eww.) Maybe its just because I'm in first class. THE PROGRAM EVEN PUT ME IN A FIRST CLASS FLIGHT! (if I failed to mention that already…) I should really give Watanabe-sensei some kind of super cool gift when I get back home next weekend. If it weren't for her, I would have never even gotten into the business class this Taisho person created. I think his name was Sesshoumaru Taisho. I've never seen him, but from what I heard, he's one of the most successful entrepreneurs out there. Even got his business started at a young age. That was like… 15 or 20 years ago, I think. I'm not really sure… anyway, I don't think it's a number one priority I need to know. (But it IS impressive!) All I know is my business plan 'intrigued' him, whatever that means, so now he wants to meet me after I get off my flight and settled in the hotel. (Of course it wont be IN my hotel room… its in some meeting hall. That'd be really creepy to meet with a guy probably THREE TIMES my age... alone… in a hotel room he's pretty much paying for through his own company. Sounds like some kind of sugar daddy. Hahaha.) _

He chuckled to himself when he saw that last sentence.

_ANYWAY, umm… I hope I don't make a fool of myself in front of him. I already did a countless number of times in front of this white haired guy I met on the plane. I think I made him really mad at first… seeing how he didn't seem to like the plane's seating arrangements… or me wiggling in my seat… or me sitting on his hair. Yeah. And that only happened in the first ten minutes. But he seems to be pretty nice. He held me during takeoff… when I pretty much freaked out as the plane rose. It was like a stupid, ear popping, roller coaster. I HATE THOSE!!! I accidentally held (squeezed the crap out of) his hand, too. But he was nice about it. Hey! I don't think I ever got his name. That would be a good idea, huh? I can see it now… _

_Mom: Hi, Kagome! Did you enjoy your trip? _

_Me: Yep! I even met this one guy on the plane. We held each other's hand during takeoff. _

_Mom: That's nice. What's his name?_

_Me: I have no idea. _

_**Wonderful. **_

_But anyway, I think I'm done for now. His laptop just went off and I think he may want to talk again. He sounds so cool! I'll write more tomorrow after I get more comfortable in the hotel room… in New York… for the entire week… after listening to entrepreneur presentations!!! EEK!!! -glee- _

_Bye! _

"Higurashi, right?"

She turned off her laptop and looked over at him. "Yep." She was beaming.

"What are you planning to do in New York?"

She smiled. "I won an award from a business program in Tokyo. Maybe you've heard of it. It's called the Taisho International Entrepreneurial Foundation. The people who work for it help kids like me… well, better dressed kids, anyway, with the business ideas they either had prior to joining the program, or come up with their own business ideas while in the program. I honestly don't know how I won. Only two in the program, out of all of Japan, won. And my business isn't very… worthy."

"And why don't you think so?"

"It's just a doll I make and sell." She reached down into her carry on bag and handed him a small hand held doll made entirely out of cloth. "I call them MeiKo Dolls."

He studied the doll that lay outstretched in his hand. It looked like a simple little rag doll. The detail was fairly decent and its eyes were made out of glass buttons. "So are they considered girl or boy dolls?"

"You know… I've never really put that into consideration. I've sold so many to both girls and boys that I consider them to all just be asexual."

"Understandable. And how much do you sell them for?"

She thought for a moment. "For a while, they sold for about five dollars. But my business instructor said I could sell them for a lot more… now they range anywhere from ten to twenty."

He smiled. It felt so foreign to him, but to her, it looked kinda sexy. "Who was your sensei?" he finally asked, noticing the way she was staring at him.

"Myoga-jiji… OH! I MEAN MYOGA-SENSEI!!"

"I can only assume he taught you well." he chuckled.

"Yeah… but he was so old! And kind of disappeared when I had a question he couldn't understand."

'As expected…'

He closed his eyes and thought to himself for a moment. Kagome figured he went to sleep, and decided to get a closer inspection of him. His features were so smooth and he had no weird blemishes or markings anywhere. She felt a little jealous and unworthy of being in his presence.

'Why is it some people never have to suffer through the pimple phase?!!'

Her face was mere inches from his when he opened his eyes. He saw her giving a close inspection his forehead when he asked, "Yes?"

She jumped. "Oh my goodness! You startled me!"

"Well, it isn't everyday I have an attractive young lady staring at my forehead while I contemplate things."

Her face flushed pink. "Sorry."

"What did I tell you about that word?"

"Sor- err- I mean, ok."

He nodded. "Tell me, Miss Higurashi,"

"You can call me Kagome."

"Kagome, what do you plan on doing with your dolls?"

A huge smile spread across the girls face and she seemed to brighten up a great deal. "I want to own my own coffee house!! There'd be a restaurant connected to it, and I want to be able to teach kids how to play instruments, or draw, or sew. I'll even have a band play on a stage I drew up. I have TONS of blueprints!!"

"May I see them?" he inquired.

"Of course!" she reached back down into her bag, a bit _too_ excited, and practically threw the pages at him. "Here! There's at least ten pages worth of things from the bathroom layout to an upstairs studio."

"Studio?"

"Yeah. Believe it or not, I enjoy my own little private time."

He smiled and lowered his voice. "And what do you do during this 'private time'?"

"Just draw... or sew... or write." she didn't seem to notice, or understand, what he really meant.

"My god, girl! You can't stick to just one thing?!"

She shook her head. "Nope. That's why I want my coffee house. Did I mention I love coffee too?"

'Typical starving artist.' He shook his head. "And how long have you had this ambition?"

"Umm… since I was about… five years old."

He looked at her in disbelief. If it was possible, his eyes might have just opened enough to pop out. "How old are you now?"

"What time is it?"

He raised an eyebrow to her, but she looked pretty serious. Checking his watch, he noticed it was noon. They had been on the plane for nearly two hours now. "Its noon."

"I'm seventeen for ten more minutes."

"Happy birthday… I think?"

"Thanks." she smiled, "How old are you? If you don't mind me asking."

He shook his head. "I'll be thirty-six next month."

"Wow. You don't look that old."

"Thank you." he said, "You know, we've been on this plane for nearly two hours and somehow you've managed to entertain me to the point where it seems that time was cut in half."

"Well, I'm glad to have given you an extra hour of life… or is that taking away from it?"

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not."

He gave a slight nod and went back to closing his eyes.

She sat around for five minutes and looked around. Apparently there wasn't much to look at. "I'm tired."

"Grab a pillow." He mumbled. "Its going to be a long flight if you're bored already."

"But the guy behind me is working on something… and I can't sleep sitting like this." she whined.

He shifted his position and sighed. "Here," he said, lifting the arm rest and leaning over towards the window a bit, "you can rest on my shoulder. I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You can put your pillow on my shoulder if you'd like. Just don't drool on me." he warned.

"I won't." she replied, sleepily.

She grabbed her small, red, travel pillow and leaned over on the man's shoulder. At first all feelings of sleep she previously had were replaced with waves of excitement, but when she saw he was fast asleep, her body remembered why she was in that position in the first place and quickly dozed off.

Two hours later, the man woke to find his left arm feeling completely numb. He noticed the girl still sleeping on his shoulder and very carefully, he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her tiny body like he did with her earlier during take off. Only this time she wasn't stiff or shaking. She wiggled around and let out a little groan, scooting her body closer to get more comfortable before falling back to sleep.

'What is this feeling? Five hours into a flight and this one somehow manages to get past my guard…'

He tilted his head over and gently rested it over hers before falling asleep again.

* * *

_"Kagome… Kagome…"_

Kagome felt something soft touch her forehead.

"Wake up, tenshi." a voice whispered.

'Huh?' Her eyes fluttered open and she saw two amber eyes gazing at her. She shot up. "Wh-where am I??"

She looked around at all the men in business suits gathering their things together and heading out the plane.

"We're in New York now." he said.

"Oh…"

"Do you know where to go?"

"No."

He handed her bag and laptop to her. "Here, I'll go with you to baggage claim and help you find your hotel. Where are you staying?"

"Uhh…" she looked through her folder at all the instructions until she found a paper that told her about the hotel. "the… Sheraton?"

"We're going to the same place then." he said, walking her towards baggage claim. "We can take a cab over there together and then I'll leave you alone, if you want"

"No, its alright. I think I can find may way around. They told me everything I need to know… I'm pretty sure."

Beautiful and independent.

"Alright, it was nice meeting you, Ka-go-me. I'm sure we'll run into each other again." he said, shaking her hand.

'I certainly hope so…' She smiled. For some reason, she thought a simple handshake wouldn't suffice. Without giving it another thought, she stepped closer to him and gave him a little hug. "I hope the people here are as nice and helpful as you!"

Naturally, her actions took him completely by surprise and he reacted as such. But after her last words, he wrapped an arm around and gave her a light hug.

Kagura, the flight attendant with the high squeaky voice, saw this and shot daggers at the young girl.

Kagome let him go and smiled.

"Good luck." he said.

"You too."

He turned around and disappeared into a sea of people in the opposite direction. She stared off in the direction he went in for a few seconds when it suddenly hit her.

"I didn't get his name!"

* * *

**So, I recently found out _Meiko_ means 'clothing child.' And forgive me, for I know not of the yen. -.-**

**_(I wish the guys on planes were that nice!! ...well, the cute ones, anyway.)_**

**-VG-**


	2. Stroke of Luck

**Hey look!! It isn't my birthday for a few more weeks and you got a new chapter! I'd say that's pretty good. My schedule opened up and I have a bit more time to write now. Everyone say "Yaaaay." **

**Characters may start to be OOC, but who cares? They're in a different time to begin with, anyway! hehe**

**Read, review, wait for the next chapter! I know how I want this story to go... and it'll be _good._**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own shit. -.-+ This holds true forever. **

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__Oh my God. I don't know what time it is back home, but I know it's still my birthday in this place and I fully intend on celebrating as much as I possibly can... BUT I'M SO TIRED! You only turn 18 once, right? I thought I was to get a cab and go to the hotel on my own, but apparently that Sesshoumaru guy arranged to have a limo pick me up and take me to the hotel. That was awfully nice of him, but I was kind of looking forward to seeing the inside of an American taxi cab. I was fine with taking the limo, though. (ha!) I remember seeing a blonde girl, maybe around my age, I really don't know, looking at me with the most evil eyes I have ever seen. Not very many people have ever looked at me that way, but this girl, she looked like she wanted to kill me as soon as the driver came up and said something like, "Mr. Taisho requests that I personally bring you to the hotel… blah, blah, blah." (I really can't remember what else he said. I just know that this Sesshoumaru guy is giving me a bit more luxuries than the other applicants are getting. Maybe he knows it was my birthday?) Whatever the reason, that same blonde girl was at the hotel when I arrived, and she was still giving me that evil look. She kind of creeps me out. _

_So let me tell you about the limo ride. My first time riding in one of those, I feel I should explain a bit of it. It wasn't as great as some people describe it. The driver was rather rude and looked like a short, ugly, little toad. He went by the name Jaken. I'll be sure to remember that name and stay clear of it from now on. He just threw my luggage in the trunk, not really caring if I had anything valuable stored inside (Thank God I didn't. My poor little laptop was safely wrapped in my arms. He'd be dead right now if that broke.), he complained of how his master always sent him to do meaningless tasks, I'm assuming I was the so called task, and yelled at me not to touch anything inside. I wasn't really planning on touching anything, anyway. Stupid toad man. There was a radio inside, blue lights along a little table/counter looking thing that held a bunch of wine glasses and stuff, and black leather seats. I liked laying down on them. I bet if I hadn't put up the divider between toad man and I, he would have surely had a fit seeing my 'filthy, germ-infested, shoes' on the seats. He already got mad at me for turning down the air conditioner… and here I was thinking toads liked warmth. ::snicker:: _

_Checking into the hotel wasn't much better. The receptionist was giving me a hard time first by talking to me like I was some kind of deaf five year old (It could have had something to do with me being from Japan…), but after I told her I knew how to speak English, she went on saying a minor like me wasn't allowed to "just check herself into a hotel like this without proper approval from a parent or guardian." It took me forever to convince her I was not only eighteen, but Kagome Higurashi, a student in the T.I.E.F. program and was to have a meeting with none other than Sesshoumaru Taisho in a few hours. "Now give me my room key, damnit!" Haha. It felt strange talking to an elder like that, but I was tired and cranky. I needed a shower, a change of clothes, and FOOD. No one treats me with disrespect like that when all I originally did was ask for my room key! Bitch brought it upon herself. Hmph. _

_Anyway, I made it safely to my hotel room and that's where I'm typing this now. Ugly little Jaken told me to wait here until one of the other worker people come up here to fetch me and bring me to Mr. Taisho. I swear, that ugly toad thinks I must be some kind of dog. Whatever, I want to make sure I look nice for when I actually meet this guy. I'll write about it when I come back. _

* * *

Kagome turned off her laptop and took a look around her hotel room. The place was huge despite the one bed that occupied it. It looked more like a small apartment to her. One part of the room held her bed, a television, a closet where she already took the liberty of storing her clothes for the week, and a small desk complete with a complimentary fruit basket and pens and notepad papers. Another part of the room broke off to a giant white tiled bathroom, and another to what looked to be like some kind of living room area with a sofa and fireplace. The fireplace, much to her disappointment, was only a gas heater that gave off the illusion of the actual thing.

'This room is way too big for one person.' she thought to herself.

Suddenly she felt a low rumble make it's presence known from the pit of her stomach and placed a slender hand over it.

"Man, I'm so hungry." she complained. Obviously no one heard her, seeing how she was alone in the room to begin with, but saying something out loud broke a bit of the eerie silence that filled the room.

She looked around for the small fridge she saw earlier as she was wandering around getting herself familiar with the room, but found it contained no food.

'_Greeeeeeat.' _"Oh well. I'll just spend my precious money on that vending machine I saw out in the hall." she told herself, fishing out her wallet and looking for some of the American currency her mother gave her before she left.

Suddenly there was a loud knock on her door, causing her to jump and forget whatever thoughts were running through her mind. Slowly, she walked up to the door and looked out the eyehole to see a young woman wearing all black waiting patiently outside. Kagome opened the door enough for her to peek out.

"May I help you?"

The woman bowed. "I am Sango Houshi. I am your translator and I am also to bring you downstairs to meet Taisho-sama. Unfortunately he is running a bit late and will be another hour. I was instructed to tell you to wear semi-formal clothing. He does not take very kindly to casual wear."

Kagome nodded. "Sorry, but I all ready know how to speak English,"

'_Five years of it_ _had better pay off this week' _she growled to herself.

"but thank you. I will be ready."

Sango bowed again and left. Kagome shut her door and looked through her closet for something more appropriate than a simple pair of blue jeans and white collared shirt. She didn't know which of her garments she could consider to be semi-formal, so she opted for a long sleeved red silk blouse and a long black and grey peasant skirt. It was the best she could do. One quick look in the mirror told her she needed to get some kind of makeup on and fast.

'Make up will finish the look. It has to… I can't go out and have Mr. Taisho think I'm some kind of bum. What will the people back at home think if they find out I failed because I couldn't even look the part?'

With one swift pull, she opened the zipper of her small makeup bag and let the contents all spill out on the bathroom counter. She wasn't very experienced with eye shadow, let alone liner, and put on as little as she could, trying desperately to keep the lines on her eyelids straight. It took twenty minutes for each eye, but she finally got her face looking how she wanted it. She went back to the full body mirror and inspected her attire. Her clothing looked about as semi-formal as it could get and her face finally had a bit of texture to it. The pink eye shadow was barely visible, but enough to say she was at least wearing _something. _

"Take a good look at yourself because this is as pretty as you'll ever look…"

Two minutes later, another knock came banging on her door and she looked out the eyehole to see the same woman as before waiting patiently outside. She opened the door and greeted her happily.

"Hi Sango. How do I look?" she asked, twirling around.

The woman looked a bit embarrassed. "Y-you look nice." she stammered, "Are you ready?"

Kagome smiled. "Yes. We can go downstairs now."

Sango smiled and led her downstairs to a small meeting hall where they were stopped by a white haired man. Kagome thought he looked similar to the guy she met on the plane, but this guy was a bit shorter and scruffy looking and possibly a bit younger. He also didn't look very happy. He glanced over at Sango and waved her off.

"You can leave Sango. Be ready tomorrow for Orientation." he told her.

"Yes, Mr. Taisho. I will be here at 7:00 to set up the hall." she bowed and left.

The white haired man looked at Kagome. He was still frowning. "What do you want?"

"Umm… Sesshoumaru-sama?" she asked, a bit scared.

His anger seemed to only grow at this. "What the fuck? No! Who the hell are you?"

Kagome cringed. "Umm… sorry, I'm Kagome Higurashi." she trembled, holding out her hand for him to shake. "I was told Mr. Taisho wanted to meet me and I hea-"

"And you heard Sango call me 'Mr. Taisho,' and _assumed _I was the Taisho you were looking for." he interrupted her, pushing her hand aside.

She slowly nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Feh. You should be. Confusing me for that _half_ brother of mine."

"Sorry."

"Whatever. Go back to your room."

Kagome just looked at him, confusion plainly written across her face.

"Hello??" he yelled, waving his hand across her face, "Are you deaf? I said go back to your room. Sesshoumaru doesn't need to talk to you anymore. He cancelled your meeting."

"Oh… May I ask why?" she asked, now with a bit of courage.

The man just looked at her, a bit shocked that she would even ask something like that. "He probably saw what you were wearing. Didn't Sango tell you to dress nice?? You look like you just came back from a thrift store."

That hit Kagome pretty hard. Tears threatened to leave her eyes, but she fought them back. 'I will not give this jerk the pleasure of seeing me cry. Asshole.'

"I'm sorry my clothing taste doesn't satisfy you. Please tell Mr. Taisho I am sorry for offending him as well, Mr. Tai-"

"Inuyasha." he cut her off.

"Mr. Inuyasha."

He shook his head. "No. Just call me Inuyasha."

"Alright." she bowed and left, storming off back to the elevators.

As soon as she stepped in, her stomach let out another loud growl, reminding her she still hadn't eaten yet. She got off on her floor and went straight for the vending machine down the hall trying desperately to fish out the dollar she stuffed into her shirt pocket. Two tears found their way sliding down her cheek followed by two more until she soon found herself kneeling before the humming machine, crying with long agonized sobs.

"What the hell did I do to receive this treatment?? I hate New York!"

"Kagome?" a familiar voice called out.

'That voice…' She looked up to see the man from the plane standing across from her. He was wearing what appeared to be lounging clothes and could only assume his room was on the same floor as hers. Not allowing another moment to pass, she shot herself up and ran into his arms, clinging desperately onto him for some kind of comfort. He quickly responded, expecting some kind of reaction like that from the girl, and wrapped his arms protectively around her as she continued crying.

"Shh." he said, "Its all right." Although he wasn't exactly sure what happened. He rubbed the back of her head as she continued crying, which was beginning to draw a bit of attention from the other guests as some emerged from their rooms to see what all the annoying racket was about. He told them in English that everything was fine and sent them back to their rooms.

"Kagome," he softly said, looking down at her, "can you tell me what happened?"

Her sobs became silent sniffles as she tried to recollect everything that had happened the past couple hours.

"I was supposed to meet Mr. Taisho… and the lady said to dress nice, so I did… and that guy… Inuyasha, he said… he said I looked like I came out of a thrift store. I tried to look nice, I really did. I even tried to put on makeup! But he made fun of me… and Mr. Taisho cancelled the meeting. Everything I did was for nothing… and I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten… I need… I…" she never got to finish her sentence because she found herself stumbling down. Her legs gave out on her and her body was begging for nothing more than to lay down.

The man quickly pulled her up and took her away from the vending machine. "Which room is yours?" he asked as he held her bridal style.

"1121." she mumbled, her head nestled on his shoulder.

He carried her over to the room and placed her softly on her bed as she curled over.

"Do you have any food in here with you?" he softly asked her.

She shook her head. "I was going to buy a bag of chips from the machine."

He sighed. "I'll be right back."

He quickly left the room, leaving the door wide open and came back a few minutes later holding a tray with a plate of some kind of sandwich and a glass of water.

"Here." he said, "I bought this earlier from the kitchen. You need the nourishment more than I do."

She looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Turkey sandwich and some water."

She looked at him and began crying again. He set the tray down and rushed to her side holding her small form in his strong arms.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, "I normally don't cry… but you're the only person who's actually been nice to me my whole time here. The American's are very rude and scary… and that stupid Sesshoumaru Taisho didn't even want to meet me. First he runs late, and then he decides to just cancel the whole thing! I could have at least made it to dinner to grab a quick bite or something… anything." She held her stomach as it made another low growl. If she didn't eat something soon, she was afraid she might pass out.

He felt a pang of guilt hit him as she said that. Respect was something he demanded of his staff and expected from the ones in this hotel. That was the only reason he continued to be a faithful patron each year. He would have a talk with both staff personnel and would find a way to make up his rude behavior to her.

"I just feel so tired." she whimpered, her voice becoming more slurred.

"Its all right." he said, slightly rocking her, "You've just had a long day. I'm sure tomorrow will be a lot better."

"How can it?" she shot at him. "The nicest clothes I have are the ones I'm wearing… and I look like shit."

He pulled her away from him and looked at her attire. Her makeup was smeared because of all her crying, but it wasn't much to begin with. She was partially true. Her clothes were a bit on the unconventional side, but that was to be expected by someone who was practically a starving artist. He knew she had something special about her if she was able to make it this far in the program, and the last thing he wanted was to see her give up just because of something as trivial as clothing.

'_I can't believe I'm doing this.' _he sighed to himself. "You look like anything _but _'shit'." he told her. "Your makeup may be a bit smeared, but who's wouldn't be at midnight? Compared to many other women I've seen in this hotel, you are a late night vision, and believe me when I say this: coming from me, that's a lot."

His words only made her blush. As he wiped away a tear from her cheek, he couldn't help but feel overcome with a new feeling. Something he hadn't felt in a long time, and it was beginning to scare him.

'_Is this the change I've been waiting for?' _

Kagome hugged the man. "Thank you." she whispered.

He held her tighter and rested his head over hers. After he was sure she dozed off, he let her go and rested her head against one of the hotel pillows. He left a note by the tray of food, sure she would wake up within the hour and left her room, but not before quickly looking in her closet to check the size of one of her jackets.

* * *

**Awe. Bad birthday, huh? I gotta learn to stop torturing the poor characters. (Yeah, try telling that to my sadist.)**

**remember to review! give me inspiration or something.   
:P**

**Ja ne!  
-VG-**


	3. Day 1: Becoming a Monster

**I told you I'd have this up by the time my birthday came around! Guess what today is!! Haha. Yeah… I'm not giving out my age… I feel old enough. -.-**

**As a leetle present to both you guys and myself, I'm giving you a SUPAH LONG CHAPTER! Enjoy! Pissed off Sesshoumaru goodness galore! **

**FRIDAY THE 13TH _FRIDAY THE 13__TH_Hell… I was _BORN _on this day, too. I was made for destruction! Puahahaha!!!**

**D I S C L A I M E R:**** I almost forgot this little tidbit, did I? Well, here it is. I don't own a thing. I never did, for if that were to ever happen, the entire thing would go to shit. Rumiko Takahashi and all those Viz ppls own it. I am merely using the characters and tweaking them around for my amusement. Nor do I own the Sheraton. I just like saying that name out loud.  
****Ya hear that?! I don't own shit!! -.-+**

* * *

"All the items were delivered successfully?" 

"_Yes, sir. All three were wrapped and left at the door." _

"The note added as well?"

"_Yes, sir."_

"What about the written apologies?"

"_Mr. Taisho's was written, sealed, and placed with the three packages."_

"And yours, Miss Schwartz?"

The woman on the other end of the line began to stammer. _"I… I - uh… I didn't get around to it yet." _

She heard a deep growl coming from the phone and immediately regretted her last sentence. Just as she thought a booming voice would come shooting out at her, the line went silent. Normally growling guests would start screaming and yelling when they were pissed off, but this, this was different. She was not used to this kind of silence. The very thought of what could happen sent shivers down her spine.

'Maybe he just hung up… but wouldn't there be a dial tone?'

She couldn't handle the silence any longer. There was other work she would have rather been doing, but someone just _had_ to snitch on her and tell one of the richest men at the hotel that not only was she prejudiced, but also that it was towards one of the students from _his _stupid yearly program he has at the hotel. Her boss found out and, luckily, had given her another chance… but she was hanging on a _very _thin thread. Deciding not to wait any longer, she tried calling out into the phone.

"_H-hello?"_

Sesshoumaru was nearly close to fuming. This woman was obviously an incompetent worker. She _knew _he had students coming in that week, she _knew _to give them their room keys, despite their age, and when she screwed that up, he _made sure _she knew to write a letter of apology to Kagome for keeping her waiting over two hours in the lobby with nothing but her suitcase and laptop when she could have, at the very least, given her a ticket to join the other students for lunch. Yet she did nothing, and here she was telling him she hadn't gotten around to writing the letter he told her to have done by the time she came into work that morning.

"Tell me, Miss Schwartz." His voice was eerily calm. "Do you enjoy working here at the Sheraton?"

That couldn't be good.

"_Y-yes, Mr. Taisho."_

"And do you try your best to do the best job possible, to keep this occupation you so thoroughly enjoy?"

"_Yes, sir" _

"You do realize I had a talk with your boss, and I understand he gave you a second chance. Please, feel free to stop me if I'm wrong." His voice was beginning to grow more tense.

"_No, sir. You're right." _

"Then answer me this, Miss Schwartz: Why is it your job lies in the very palm of my hand, yet you cannot properly follow a simple command? One that was given to you specifically by me, when you know very well that with one phone call, I can not only have you fired, but also living on the streets unable to find any other kind of work."

The woman gasped, suddenly missing that earlier creepy silence.

"_I'm very sorry sir. Its just that so--" _

"I do not need to hear any lame excuses, Miss Schwartz. You either have that letter ready in fifteen minutes, or you can start packing your belongings. I personally do not care what you do, but I think you enjoy having a warm home to stay in during the winter, correct?"

"_Yes, sir. It will be ready in fifteen minutes." _

"Good. Do not lie to me when I call back. I will know."

There was a click and the line went dead.

* * *

Sesshoumaru hung up his little black cell phone and slammed it on the desk in his hotel room. He didn't care if it broke in the process. It suffered more than enough beatings from him since the day he had first gotten it, though he did wonder why it only had minor scrapes. He could only conclude that it was the ultimate phone, made specifically for him and his greatness. A bit arrogant, yes, but that was what got him through his 36 years. Yet, it wasn't the phone that was on his mind. It was that Kagome Higurashi and both the hotel's and his idiot staff. He was disgusted with their behavior towards the young girl… no, woman -yes, woman- and the damned feelings he knew he was developing for her. He knew since his first whore of a wife cheated on him and left both him and their daughter a few years ago, he wanted nothing to do with women, or anyone else for that matter. His first priority was his child and his second was work, there was, and would never be, any third, though recently he found himself craving some kind of change. 

Life had gotten dreadfully dull for him. It was the same tedious routine over and over, day after day. Wake up, make sure his child was well cared for, work, back home, get ready for bed, sleep and start all over. That's the way its been the last four years and it was beginning to frustrate him. He had to admit, although he enjoyed having a giant bed to himself, it was beginning to get a bit old waking up with nothing to greet him but air.

His thoughts were interrupted by a faint knock on his door.

"Yes?" he called, leaning back in his chair.

"Mr. Taisho, it is Sango." came the voice from the other end.

"Yes, Ms. Houshi. What is it?"

Her voice was soft, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Inuyasha has everything set up in the main hall and the students are starting to go down for breakfast. They will all be ready for you at ten o'clock."

This was not something he was going to look forward to. Not even a full day here and his dimwitted half-brother was already pushing him off the edge. Now he had to go downstairs and meet up with both him, the now annoying hotel staff, and lord knows how many hormone driven teenagers all in one meeting hall. He could just wing it and not go. Let Inuyasha deal with it… after all, that was why the idiot was there.

"I will not be attending this morning's orientation, Ms. Houshi." he said, dropping his chair back on all fours and rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration.

She stammered. "B-but… who will do th--"

"Have Inuyasha do it. He's going to be doing this in a few years, anyway. Let him get a feel for it and report back to me."

Her voice suddenly calmed down. "Yes, sir."

He knew she was gone when he heard the heels of her shoes click down the hall, no doubt toward the elevators, and he allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts again.

'Yes, Inuyasha… the idiot.'

"_Oi, Sesshoumaru! Some girl came down here dressed like a hippie and asked for you."_

_The man, wearing lounging clothes, came walking out of the elevators glaring toward the desk he saw his brother sitting at. _

"_And did you tell her I no longer needed to see her?"_

_His brother scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. I told her. I don't see why the clerk couldn't have told her. It was HER job, anyway." _

"_She was instructed to do that." he said, eyeing the woman across the lobby before coming back to glare at his brother. "So, tell me, why is it that same girl was found crying in the hall saying you insulted her?" _

"_What?? I didn't do shit to her! She's the one who looked out of place." _

"_And did you stop to think maybe that was all she had to wear?" he growled, more annoyed at how materialistic the damn kid seemed to be. _

_Inuyasha stood up from his chair and eyed his brother. "What's that got to do with anything? Its not like you care for her." _

_Sesshoumaru grabbed the boy by his collar and pulled him towards his body, growling. "Regardless as to whether I care about her or not, you are NEVER to insult a student nor any other kind of woman you happen to come across. I will not risk having everything I spent years building go to shit just because of your idiotic behavior. Understood?" _

_Inuyasha grabbed the hands holding his clothing and pulled them off his person. "Whatever." he muttered, sitting back down. _

"_You will fix this. You will handwrite a letter of apology to her and deliver it to her door before seven o'clock tomorrow morning along with a few packages… and it better be sincere." _

_Both brothers stared intently at each other until the younger one looked away, one Sesshoumaru took as a sign of submission, and nodded. He turned and walked from the boy towards the front desk. _

'Now onto that clerk…'

* * *

Sesshoumaru's thoughts were interrupted for a second time, this time from the ringing of his cell phone that lay resting next to his tense form. He was just about ready to answer and yell at the person who dared call him while he was in such a state, but quickly saw the caller ID and allowed a small smile to grace his lips. He pressed the green answer button and put the phone to his ear. 

"Hello, Rin."

_"Hi, Daddy!! Guesth what! Rin losth her firsth toof today! Kaede-sama said…"_

* * *

"_Goooooooooooooood morning New York! It's six o'clock and a beautiful Saturday morning here in--" _

A hand slipped out from under the red covers of the giant Sheraton hotel bed and slammed down hard on the clock radio that rested on the nightstand beside it. From under the covers, the girl the hand belonged to groaned out in pain and rolled over, cuddling back up into a ball to try and lull herself back into the comfort of sleep.

Five minutes later, the television that sat in front of the bed turned on and the morning news came blasting out at the maximum volume level.

"What the-?!"

Long raven hair shot up from under the covers only to come in contact with the grey carpet floor soon after.

"Oww…"

The dilapidated body of a young woman struggled to stand up and rubbed her now sore bottom, making sure none of the clothing she was wearing tore in the process.

"Great, Kagome. Your first night alone in a hotel and you wake up getting the shit scared out of you by the TV."

She hobbled over to the television and put the volume down before heading over to the bathroom, having no real desire to see the state of her body, but to cleanse it.

The water poured down onto her back and rolled down in beads along with the soap suds from her shampoo, allowing her body to relax and send her into a mild trance. "This is nice." she mumbled out loud, and gave a small giggle. Her eyes shot open, breaking her from her thoughts and the events of last night immediately replayed themselves before her. That white haired jerk, her crappy clothes, her growling stomach, and the only person who came to her rescue… A smile graced her small lips as she thought of how the same man she met on the plane went out of his way to help her into her room and even feed her.

'No one has ever done that for me.'

She had to admit, the guy was really attractive, even if he was thirty six. Age shouldn't matter, right? Right. The only problem was, she never got his name, and now she wasn't so sure she wanted to know anymore. Not yet, anyway.

'I wonder if he's married. I think he told me he had a little girl, but he never mentioned a wife… and I didn't see a ring. Divorce? Adoption? Dirty cheating liar?'

She was suddenly torn away from her thoughts, again, when she heard a light tapping on her door. Not really thinking about her current state, she quickly wrapped a towel around her wet body and ran to peek through the eyehole on the main door. Blonde hair, blue eyes, curvaceous body, all clad in the Sheraton uniform stood outside, holding a white envelope, patiently waiting for the door to open.

"Can I help you?" Kagome said, slightly cracking the door open, a bit scared the woman may have come for revenge.

"Miss Higurashi, it is me, Ms. Schwartz. I came to apologize for my earlier behavior towards you upon your check in."

"Oh… ok."

Kagome opened the door and took a step out, still wrapped in her towel and gave a small smile to the woman, who looked at her in what was either embarrassment or fear. She noticed she was still wearing a small white towel and opted for embarrassment.

"Umm… hi." she mumbled, taking a step backward into her room. "Sorry."

The woman shook her head. "No, its okay. I should be the one to apologize. It was not my place yesterday to question you when you had all the necessary documentation… and I should have told you about the message Mr. Taisho left for you…"

"Message?"

The woman was now visibly shaking. She knew who was on this floor and had no doubt in her mind that he could hear her conversation with the young girl. After all, he was only a couple doors across the hall from her.

"Yes, Mr. Taisho left a message for you to receive upon your arrival, but I failed in giving it to you. I really am very sorry."

Kagome was silent. That message would have explained a lot. Though the woman was entirely at fault in this whole situation, she couldn't help but feel a bit of remorse for her. She did apologize, so that had to count for something.

'Damnit. I'm too forgiving.'

She gave the woman a friendly smile and took the letter from her outstretched hand. "Its okay. Bad day, huh?"

The woman smiled back at her. "Yeah…"

She nodded. "Understandable. But," she looked down at her towel clad body and blushed slightly, "I should probably get back inside and get dressed."

The woman suddenly blushed, but nodded in understanding. "Oh! One more thing."

"Eh?"

"You had these packages and letters addressed to you sitting outside." She handed Kagome three medium sized rectangular white boxes and smiled at her once more before leaving.

"Umm… Thank you!" she called, before going back into her room and closing the door.

She placed the packages on the edge of her bed and stared at them.

"Who the hell would give me a gift here?"

She opened one of the envelopes, read its contents, and smiled. 'So Inuyasha apologized, too. I think this New York thing may end up being something good.' J

She then inspected the three packages before finding a small note attached to one. Carefully, she ripped it off the box and opened it.

_Ms. Higurashi, _

_I apologize for my absence yesterday, as well as the rude behavior of both mine and the hotel staff. They have been properly dealt with and I only hope you will accept these three gifts as a sort of apology. I trust they are the correct size. If not, do not hesitate to ask any of the hotel members or my staff for a replacement. _

_Regretfully, _

_Sesshoumaru Taisho _

Kagome's eyes bulged when she finished reading the letter.

"_He _wrote me that letter?? And wait… _correct size??_"

She quickly hovered over one of the boxes and pulled the top off. Inside was a short black dress skirt, a white collared long sleeve blouse and a black blazer. A business woman's suit.

"Oh my God."

She pulled the top off the other two boxes and found two more suits, one pinstriped and the other a navy blue.

"This is… wow." _'Well, this is one step closer into becoming everything I've ever wanted to be…' _

Glancing at the clock, Kagome realized it was near 7:45 and decided to pack everything, save for the first suit she pulled out, and get ready for breakfast. This was one meal she would never miss out on, hungry or not. She greeted Sango outside her door and ran to the elevator, giggling in excitement as the woman smiled and moved on and stopped a few doors down.

'Probably to get another student getting ready for breakfast.'

* * *

Kagome waltzed out of the elevator with her head held high and headed toward the room all the students were having their breakfast in. She marveled at the site before her. It was a giant hall with several tables set up and a giant buffet table placed in the front filled with all sorts of food. 

"Wah…"

"Big, huh?" a voice from behind chuckled.

'Huh?' She spun around to see a tall boy, not much older than her, with long black hair and bright blue eyes smiling at her.

"Are you talking to me?" she asked, immediately realizing how dumb her question was. 'Of course he is, baka. You're the only one standing here!'

The boy chuckled. "Yeah. You're Higurashi, huh?"

She blushed. "Yeah. You must be Kouga Ookami, ne?"

"The one and only." he smiled, bending down to grab her hand and kiss it, before leaning over and whispering close to her ear. "We're the only Japanese ones here. The rest are all from this place or Europe, and I hear there's only five girls total. You're going to have so many guys swarming over you, especially in _that _suit you're wearing."

He stepped back and looked her body over. Though he had a girlfriend back at home, he couldn't help but want to reach out and grab those curvaceous hips of hers. They were practically begging to be touched. He looked back up at her and winked, which only made her blush even harder.

"Do you really think so?" she whispered, eyeing all the other guys in the room, many of which really were looking over at her… and _smiling. _

"Kagome, you just saw ten different white boys checking you out! They were even ignoring the other four girls sitting near them."

"What?!" she cried, jumping behind him trying to hide herself. Unfortunately it only made him laugh and brought even more attention her way. 'Crap.'

"I have an idea." he smirked, knowing she could see him.

"What's that?"

"Just watch." he whispered. "Kagome," he said loud enough for most of the room to hear, and in English, "You've just made me the happiest guy in the room! From this day forth, you shall forever be my woman!"

Her eyes bulged out of her head and she pushed him away. "Nani!!" she cried, switching back to Japanese. "Kouga-kun, what are you doing?!"

"I'm saving you!" he hissed back. "You don't want any of these losers gawking at you, do you?"

"Well, no," she lowered her voice, "but--"

"Oi! Ookami! You have a girlfriend back home, remember?!" a familiar voice rang out from the crowd of students. None understood Japanese and weren't aware of the little dramatic scene taking place right before them.

Both Kouga and Kagome turned around to see Inuyasha walking towards them, a look of disgust and something else on his face.

"You know him??" she asked the boy standing next to her. He nodded.

"What's it to you, mutt? You obviously don't like her!"

"Hey!"

"What?!" she cried.

Inuyasha came running up to them and was just about ready to punch the other boy's face when Kagome began to yell at both of them.

"Will someone _please _tell me what the hell is going on? I just wanted breakfast!"

"Kagome…" Inuyasha stared at her, no doubt impressed by the clothes she was wearing. "You got my letter, right?"

"_Letter?" _

"Yeah." she slightly smiled at him. "Its okay. I forgive you."

He sighed. "I'm glad."

"_What letter??" _

Kagome looked back at Kouga, who obviously looked pretty pissed off, and a satisfied Inuyasha who was smirking at him.

"Can we eat first? Please?" she pleaded with the both of them. If she was going to go into any kind of details about anything, she'd rather do it on a full stomach than an empty one.

"Alright. Fine." Kouga growled.

"Hey! Watch how you talk to her!"

"Shut up, mutt!"

"BOYS! Food!"

* * *

"So… let me get this straight. He wrote you a letter, apologizing for making fun of you, your clothes, and pride, and you just accepted it?" 

"Mhmm. Pretty much." she said, popping a strawberry into her mouth before taking in its flavor. 'Mmm…'

The three of them were sitting together at a table off to the far corner away from the other noisy students who were now finishing their breakfast.

Inuyasha just scowled at the boy. "I already told her I was sorry!"

"You should do it again, baka! Yesterday you made her sound like a sea hag!"

"You did?" she cried, looking back at him.

"Hey! I was having a bad day!" he stood up and growled, ignoring her comment for Kouga's.

"So?? She's a beautiful girl! Who cares what she's wearing? I'd gladly make out with her, rags and all!"

"You have a girlfriend!"

'Oh god, not again.' She dropped her head into her hands and tried her best to not look at the hall of faces now looking back at them to see what all the yelling was about.

"Umm… Mr. Taisho," came a meek voice.

Inuyasha turned around to see Sango standing behind him, blushing. "It is time for Orientation. Sesshoumaru requested for you to do it."

Immediately the boy smirked. "What, the jerk got scared and ran off?"

"No," she replied, "he said it would be a good learning experience for you, seeing how you're going to be doing this on your own in a few years."

"Yeah, right." he scoffed. "He got scared." he looked down and winked at Kagome as he said that.

She raised her eyebrow at him. 'What the hell? Why is everyone doing that to me?'

Inuyasha sauntered up to a podium placed in the front of the hall and tapped into the microphone. All the voices in the hall slowly died down as he waited to begin. Some of the translators stood by their respective students and prepared to translate whatever it was he was going to say. Kagome watched the podium as Kouga was talking to Sango about something or the other.

"Welcome students to the annual TIEF business competition where you'll spend the entire week improving your business, profile, as well as your own skills as an entrepreneur and maybe make a friend or two. I am Inuyasha Taisho, one of the co-owners and I will be giving you all the instructions you'll need throughout this week in this little orientation here… so pay attention!"

Kagome was amazed at how well he was speaking English. She had originally thought he was some rich brat who knew nothing and was just forced to spend the week here, but he had really proven her wrong.

"Now," he began again, "Your translators and group leaders will explain this in more detail, so I'm just going to jump through this real quick so we can get our first day out of the way and enjoy our time in the hotel."

Several students cheered, which only encouraged him to go faster.

"Ok, first day is easy. You'll all break off into groups of five and meet your group leader instructor person and they'll tell you a bit of their life story and… well, whatever. Then you'll all look at one another's profiles and presentations that got you this far. By the time that's done with, it'll be lunchtime and you'll all come back here and eat. After that, you'll have a discussion with the whole group on how to improve and, starting tomorrow and the rest of the week, you'll all work on those profiles until they are perfect for the competition that's going to take place in this same room on Friday. Saturday and Sunday will be free days for you to pack and enjoy this place. Any questions?"

The room was silent.

"Awesome." He then looked to the back of the room and saw several adults standing in the back waiting for his next instruction. "Leaders, you have the floor." he motioned for them to come up and jumped back to his table with Kagome and Kouga.

"How was I?" he asked her.

Kagome smiled. "Natural born businessman." she joked.

Kouga scoffed at him. Inuyasha liked that.

"Ah, Higurashi and Ookami?" a voice called. Both turned around to see who the voice belonged to. Kagome thought she was seeing double and could only guess Kouga saw the same thing because two men were standing before them, smiling.

"Uhh…" she started.

One of them looked at her and smirked. "Allow us to introduce ourselves." The other started. "I am Hitomi Kagewaki, and this is--"

"I am Naraku Kagewaki." the other finished, a little scowl now beginning to play across his lips.

The two men may have looked exactly alike in every way, but Kagome saw something that differentiated them dramatically. While Hitomi had large brown eyes, Naraku had red eyes that looked almost sinister, but chose to wave it off, dubbing it as something unique and special. Kouga's face held no emotion, so whatever he thought of them, Kagome couldn't tell.

The one named Hitomi rolled his eyes at the other man. "As you can already tell, we are twins, and we will both be your instructors this week. Since you are the only students from Japan, our group will be fairly small… which is actually a very good thing on both your parts."

Naraku smiled. It made Kagome feel uneasy, but still, she ignored the feeling she was getting. "Yes. If you two are done eating, we can head over to the room we set up and get this day over with." He glanced back at Kagome and gave her a small smirk that sent even more shivers up her spine.

'Those eyes.'

Inuyasha sensed her uneasiness when she looked at one of the brothers and tried to take charge.

"Hitomi. Why don't you be Higurashi's instructor while Naraku can help out Kouga. I'm sure you'll enjoy what her business plan has in store for you."

Hitomi smiled and motioned his arm to allow Kagome and Koga to step out the doors while Naraku stood back and scowled at the white haired boy before him. Inuyasha could only glare back at him, hoping the man would get the hint to be careful how he acts towards the girl. Sesshoumaru had enough to deal with, anyway.

* * *

_**The End**_

**No!! I'm just kidding. Why the hell would I end it there, anyway?? We got a horny Naraku, ignorant Hitomi, an overprotective Inuyasha, a dirty cheating bastid Kouga, and a _mildly _lust filled Sesshoumaru. We need some good, old fashioned, lip-locking action!! XDDD**

**Give me a deadline. INSPIRE ME!! **

**(doesn't hurt to review and stuff either… :D) **

**Hehe, **

**-VG-**


	4. Even the Strong Won't Survive

**I'M BACK!  
annnnnnd just like I explained in my other updates, my muse has been a little BITCH lately (excuse the language), so updates wont be as often as I had hoped... but they WILL happen at LEAST once a month. **

**By the way, I looooooooooved all your reviews!! They all made me giggle. hehe**

**ok, shutting up. Heres your long awaited chapter 4!! We actually get to see more of the PLOT!!! The fluff, no matter how much fun it is to write, must come to an end at some point. I'LL BRING IT BACK! **

**GO READ! **

* * *

The lone figure of Sesshoumaru Taisho stood facing his hotel room's window, gazing out at the grey sky covered city below, lost in thought of the past few days and all the people he dealt with. But out of all the people, only one stood out from the rest: Kagome Higurashi.

'Something's wrong. I can't quite put my finger on it, but before that Higurashi girl came along, everything seemed so dull. I can't even remember how the students from the previous years managed to keep themselves entertained. Her mere presence seems to drive all these boys up the wall and she doesn't even realize it… but she will not fall for any of them…'

"Inuyasha," he called from his spot, checking the silver watch on his wrist, '10:30 a.m.' "how is Higurashi doing?"

He didn't really need to ask. He made sure he knew how her day went the past three nights when he took her to small coffee houses and diners each night. His excuse was simple - to make sure she didn't go to bed hungry like on that fateful Friday night… yet he still felt that he needed some kind of positive reassurance from his whelp of a brother.

The younger Taisho looked over from the videogame on the television screen to his older brother and gave him a knowing smirk. "If you really wanted to know, you'd go see what she's doing with the Kagewaki twins. They have another hour in the Smith Hall if you wanted to catch her before lunch."

Sesshoumaru turned and glared at the boy, who was glaring back. "You know I cannot do that." he growled out.

"You know you can't even date her!" Inuyasha shouted, standing up, "But look where you're at now! You're leading on a girl who's old enough to be your own damn kid! What are you going to do when the week is over? Tell her you only used her to get information?!"

"This Sesshoumaru does not 'lead' girls on." he said, clasping his hands behind his back and facing the window once more, "The feelings I harbor for her are truly those of affection. I have not once asked her about her father nor her family's shrine."

Inuyasha could only feel his anger rise even more as he watched his brother stare silently out the window thinking only god knows what about the whole situation. "But you're supposed to! Oyaji's gonna kill you if you don't! Hell, he'll kill you if he finds out you even _like _her!"

"Father's concern for her family treasures matter not to me," Sesshoumaru interrupted, slightly raising his voice. "nor his beliefs on who I may or may not hold an attraction to."

"And what about when people find out you're dating one of your own students? You're putting the whole program in jeopardy if you continue this whole dating game of yours!"

There was a long pause. Inuyasha could tell the other man was thinking hard on whole situation and how everyone would be affected should anyone else find out about his relationship with Kagome.

"They wont. As far as I am concerned, she isn't my student. She is a young woman I met on the plane and have kept contact with ever since. Anything else is purely coincidental."

"Yeah, right." Inuyasha scoffed. "Tell that to the press when they find out you didn't even tell her your name." he muttered, getting up and slamming the door as he left the room.

Sesshoumaru was silent for several minutes. Of course Inuyasha was right about the program now at risk due to his own wanton desire, but he would never admit that, especially to his own brother. The whole situation was beginning to give him a headache.

Abandoning his place from the window to sit on the edge of the room's bed, he placed his forehead down into his palms and growled.

'What the hell am I doing?! Of course I know this whole thing is wrong and dangerous… but is it too much to want something for myself for once?'

* * *

"A-and by n-next year… my total s-sales sh-should be up to--" 

"STOP!" a voice boomed throughout the rather large room.

Three bodies jumped from where they were situated and looked over to a very ticked off Naraku. He was standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed firmly in front of his chest, lips pursed tightly together, and a malicious gleam clearly evident in his eyes as he stared directly at the girl on the small stage a few feet in front of him.

"Miss Higurashi! How the hell do you expect to win the final competition with you stuttering like that?! Your English is horrible! Did you not learn anything the past year about total sales revenue?!"

At first, Kagome wanted to jump down and hide from his loud voice, but as he continued with insult after insult, she found herself glaring callously at him. 'How dare he question my intellect!'

"What would your father think?" he smirked, his red eyes daring her to fight back.

That seemed to strike a nerve in the girl because nothing could have stopped her from what she was about to unleash.

"For your information, Mr. Kagewaki," she began shouting in perfect English, "I've been speaking English for over five years now _and_ I passed all my classes with top marks! If you really cared about my family, you would know that! The reason I was stuttering was because YOU decided to interrupt my lesson from Mr. Hitomi, who was explaining to me this very topic, just so you could hurry the process up and get out of here! If you hate your job so much, you shouldn't have even bothered with the program! And for your information, what my father thinks doesn't matter to me _because he died over seven years ago!" _

Kouga and Hitomi could only stare at the girl with their mouths agape. No one had ever dared talk back to Naraku like that, and if they did, well, they certainly didn't make it out the same person. Kagome didn't care. She decided she hated the man the second he began giving her those strange looks.

'I wonder what Mr. White-haired dude would say when I tell him I just yelled at my teacher…'

"Bravo, Miss Higurashi." Naraku slowly applauded. "I believe you may have just managed to successfully scare me… but only a little. Take note, young Ookami," he said, motioning over to Kouga, who was still trying to overcome the shock of everything that had just happened. "Never let other business colleagues think of you as an idiot, but as a strong-willed, hard-assed, person. However, you must _never _allow personal matters, nor any kind of emotion, to surface in front of other business associates like Higurashi's little display a few moments ago. Otherwise you will be seen as no more than a weak, emotional, woman."

Kagome glared at him and froze when she saw him looking back at her from the corner of his eye.

"That is the reason why many women never make it past the title of Personal Secretary in the business world… for obvious reasons." Naraku turned back to face her and smirked. "Wouldn't you agree, _Miss_ Higurashi?"

Kagome bit hard on her lip to keep herself from jumping at the man she was glaring at and strangling him on the spot, drawing a bit of blood in the process. Her face was burning up and both Kouga and Hitomi could only look at her remorsefully. As much as he would have liked to deny it, Hitomi couldn't change the fact that his brother's words were mostly true. Many women didn't make it to CEO of a big company because it required long hours and complete dedication. Women by nature seemed to be more docile creatures who take pride in family matters and things of that sort. It wasn't a bad thing, but it really didn't have a place in the business world. Kagome knew this was true as well, but she was stubborn and refused to succumb to it, even if it meant she would never marry and have a family of her own.

"Fuck you."

Three seconds, two sharp intakes of breath, and one growl later, a slammed door was all that could be heard as the eccentric raven haired girl behind it stormed off to her room, void of her appetite, and cursing the gods for having her mother give birth to a girl.

_

* * *

I hate it here! I want to go home now. It was bad enough the guys at home had little faith in me, but now even the people who are SUPPOSED to be teaching me how to be successful seem to agree with them!_

_But here was Mr. Naraku asking about dad and the family shrine! Maybe he didn't realize that what he was asking was pretty much rude! I'm not going to tell him what my dad left to me in his will! Dad told me to never talk about it to anyone but mama, and even she wont give me any details on it. Personally, I don't care what it was. Probably some old shrine heirloom._

_Anyway, I told him it was none of his business, and he pretty much got mad. Right after I said that, he said, "Fine, lets see if you learned anything these past three days." and had us give our WHOLE fifteen minute presentation. I didn't make it past five minutes, and Kouga… I don't know what he did after I left the room. Stupid Naraku expected me to know my whole presentation and have it memorized at that very moment! We only spent the last two days reviewing, adding, and taking things out of our presentations. We didn't have time to memorize anything! And its barely noon! _

_But noooo. Naraku wanted everything perfect, and when I got to the whole sales revenue crap, I started stuttering and trying to remember everything Mr. Hitomi explained to me, but I couldn't with the way Naraku was just staring at me with that evil smirk he always has on his face. He wanted me to fail. I know it. Just because I made him look stupid in front of his own brother a few minutes before. Asshole. _

_Then he stopped, yelled, and proceeded to insult me! No one brings my father into an argument and expects me to not say anything. No one. _

_I'm not weak! What kind of business associate would say, "What would your father think?" to another?! This is supposed to be a professional setting. Not high school. _

_He even referred to me as some kind of corporate whore who would bend over on her bosses desk and spread her legs open for him! I'm not some slutty secretary, nor will I ever BE a slutty secretary. The only person I would ever even think of doing something like that to would be with the white-haired guy I--_

Kagome's fingers immediately froze as she stared into glowing laptop screen at her last sentence.

"Umm…"

Once again, she allowed her thoughts to take over her typing on the screen before realizing at the last minute what she was saying.

'I guess going out for coffee every night would _kind of _be considered dating… but it was only for a couple nights… a couple nights I tell him about my whole day and he gives me that certain look knowing it can make me blush… and the whole stroking the side of my face with his knuckle and giving me a small kiss on the cheek before going off to his ro-- OH MY GOD!' She could have sworn she heard a little voice from somewhere shout a loud and obnoxious, "DUH!!!"

'Ohhh….' she mentally groaned to herself, 'How could I have been so blind?!'

There was a light knock on her door, effectively making her jump and nearly fall out of her seat. "Kagome-chan? Are you in here?"

It was Sango.

Kagome turned her head to the door, quickly closing her laptop lest the woman come in and read it. "Umm… y-yeah. Hang on!"

She stumbled out of her chair and scampered over to the door, swinging it open to see the woman's face donned with a look of concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked, "Hitomi just explained the whole situation to me."

Kagome just looked at her in confusion until the events of the previous hour came flooding back into her memory.

'Damnit, how could I let that guy make me forget everything?!'

Sango looked back at the disgusted expression Kagome now wore on her face, confusion clearly evident on the older woman. "Uh, Kagome?"

"Huh?" she blinked. "Oh… yeah. I'm fine and Naraku can go to hell."

She hoped she could just erase the past few hours from her memory bank and move on with her little fantasy life, but just saying his name out loud brought a whole new spiteful wave of hatred for the man.

Sango closed her eyes and sighed. "I know he can be a jerk most of the time, but I think he means well."

"No he doesn't!" she snapped. "He brought my father into the whole mess! What kind of idiot does that?! He--" She stopped yelling, realizing she was yelling at the one woman who would have possibly befriended her. There was no doubt the woman would never want to talk to her again after this. "I'm sorry. I'm just taking it all out on you now..."

Sango smiled at her and waved her hand. "Don't worry. I know how frustrating it gets. Its not easy surviving in the business world, especially as a woman."

Kagome's face lit up. 'That's right! Sango's a business person, too!'

"Sango," she asked, looking down at her folded hands, "can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." she smiled.

"Umm… are you a secretary?"

Sango just broke out into a fit of laughter. "Of course not! Those jobs are reserved for the idiots who can't get their own office! I'm head of the TIEF recruitment offices." **(A/N: No offense to anyone who _is _a secretary!! These are just the character's beliefs. Not mine.)**

"Really?"

"Of course, dear. Is that all you're afraid of?"

"No…" Kagome muttered, her face turning red.

Sango led her back into the room and sat her down on the chair in front of her laptop. "Kagome, look. I did not spend my youth studying hard for that masters just to work behind the desk outside the office I work in now. I even have my own little sporting goods business on the side that my husband helps me manage. I proved I can make it to be a successful woman, wife, and mother. I couldn't ask for anything better than what I have now, and I know you can do the same."

Kagome nodded, but couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious. She wasn't sure if she could motivate herself as much as Sango led her to believe. "Did you always know what you wanted?"

"Hell no!" The woman's outburst was a bit unconventional, but amusing all the same. "I thought I was going to pursue some career in sports, but I found making my own equipment and watching them be put to good use by the all-stars was much more fulfilling. Plus I made a good amount of money in the process." she winked. Kagome giggled.

"Listen," she told her, taking a more serious note, "people are going to always try and bring you down when you get into the big league. Naraku is a perfect example of a grade A asshole. You just have to show him how much better than him you are." Kagome nodded. "And imagine the look he'll have on his face when he finds out your dolls make you six figures." she added with a wicked giggle.

She couldn't help but smile at the woman's sudden playfulness. This Sango person had a whole different personality to her that was just waiting for the right moment to pop out. It was then Kagome knew she had someone she could relate to and trust on this week long trip, other than the guy whose name she refused to know. 'Lots of trust there, huh?'

"Thanks Sango." she smiled.

The woman nodded. "Come on. We still have another forty-five minutes for lunch. Lets go get something to eat."

* * *

"_You're sure this is Kenji's girl?" _

"Positive." the baritone voice replied to the voice on the other end, so eerily similar to each other.

"_Good. I want her broken by the end of the week." _

-click-

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER!!! Short, I know. But just bear with me for now. I'm working WITHOUT a muse!!  
and I REALLY wanted to go on with this chapter, but I didnt like how it sounded, so I deleted the last part so I can take it in a different direction... but you didnt need to know that.  
:D**

**See you next month! Don't kill me!!**

**-VG-**


	5. Disappearing Act

**I told you I don't abandon my stories. I didn't just decide to leave you all hanging like a bunch of other evil authors I know... grrr... I've just been SUPER busy dealing with school, business khrap, werk, stinky little babies that bite... and cry... and _never stop pooping_... so much shi-  
:D**

**In this super-long-chapter-made-especially-for-you-awesome-dedicated-readers, we actually see Kagome and Sesshoumaru on a date! haha.  
I've had a couple questions as to whether Miroku will be in the story or not. YES! Just not until the near end I think... **

**(Disclaimer: See chapter 2... or 3... its somewhere)**

* * *

"Do you really think I can do it?"

"I don't see why not. You've had your business for more than a few years now, so you should know how pricing works, what sells, what doesn't, and so on."

Kagome beamed.

Sitting across from her in the small diner located down the street from her hotel was her 'mysterious' silver haired friend, who she finally realized was quickly becoming something more, despite the fact she stillhad no interest in knowing his name. For some reason, she felt it made things more interesting. The two were discussing her upcoming competition, which was only a couple days away, when their conversation began drifting towards Naraku and his wonderful teaching methods.

"I still don't think that jerk should be teaching." she told him disdainfully. "He really embarrassed me today, and that was only in front of Kouga and Hitomi! I don't know what I would have done if he said all that in the competition… he's going to be one of the judges… What if one of the others ask me the same thing? What if Mr. Taisho shows up and asks me?!"

Sesshoumaru softly took hold of Kagome's hand resting next to her plate of uneaten vegetables and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "Don't worry about it so much." he consoled, bringing said hand to his lips. "He's obviously a chauvinistic jerk. I know a few women who have made it big, myself."

A big, glowing smile spread across her face. "Really? Sango- err… I'm supposed to call her Ms. Houshi, she has her own sports equipment company and sells to all the major names. Maybe you've heard of her?"

"Perhaps." he said, continuing with his ministrations on her hand. 'Of course I have.' he inwardly smirked to himself. 'Her name wouldn't have gotten big without my influence.'

"Thank you for the dinner, by the way." she told him, subconsciously playing with the hem of her red skirt in embarrassment with her free hand. "…and this dress. You really didn't have to."

He chuckled and softly caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "But I wanted to see you in it. Besides, you've had a hard day. I'd say it was well deserved."

Kagome smiled and drifted off in her thoughts. For the umpteenth time that day, she began to replay everything that led up to her argument with Naraku. She really couldn't think of a reason as to why he got mad when she wouldn't tell him anything about her family. It was odd he even asked. 'Damn nosy people.'

Sesshoumaru watched as the woman in front of him got lost in her own little world and contorted her face into the many expressions only someone like Kagome Higurashi was capable of making. First she seemed kind of dazed and lost, then confused, and finally, angry. Why she would choose to be mad at this very moment baffled even him, and he intended to find out why.

"Kagome?" he started, "Are you alright?"

Coming back down to reality, she shook her head and gave him a small smile. "Sorry. Sometimes my mind tends to get carried away."

He nodded. "Understandable. What were you just thinking about?"

'Should I tell him?' She bit her lip. "Umm… its kind of weird…"

"I already think you're weird enough." he joked.

Her eyes widened at his little remark. "Hey!"

While completely surprised at his little joke, Kagome hadn't realized that she now had the attention of several of the diners seated around her and Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru held up his hand and calmly apologized for the sudden outburst before everyone went back to their meals. Kagome remained scowling at him. 'Embarrass me, why don't you?'

As if reading her thoughts, he replied, "My apologies. Please, continue." His hand lightly squeezed hers, gently urging her to carry on. 'I love how that simple gesture turns her cheeks pink…'

Kagome looked back down at her legs and folded her hands in her lap. "Before Naraku went all evil on me, he asked me about my family. Like… he asked me how we were all doing as if he were a close friend or something…"

Sesshoumaru's back stiffened. He knew the Kagewaki men were shady characters, and that their father was constantly trying to find ways to become more powerful than the Taisho empire. That was his main reason he had both men working under him. It was a risk, but it was one worth taking. If anything peculiar should happen, he'd know about it. And if his gut instinct was correct, it was Naraku who was the one trying to get the same information he was to be getting for his father.

"Kagome," he said, his tone the most serious she had ever heard him use, "Did he ask you anything else? Something even more personal than family?"

Her face scrunched up in thought. "Yeah… He asked me about something my dad left me in his will. But I swore to never tell anyone. I don't even know what it is."

'She's in even more danger now…' He sighed. "Kagome, you must be extra careful around that man. I do not trust him."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Does the whole world know something I don't?"

Mistake number one.

He froze, not knowing how to answer the girl. The fact that she didn't want to know his name saved him from blowing his cover long ago, but now he was a thread away from it again.

"Are you okay?" Obviously she saw his expression falter that second.

'Might as well tell her the truth.' he sighed. "Your father was well known in the business world, as was his fortune." he started. "The same month his company went bankrupt was the same month he died. I do not know how, but I do know that with his death, it was able to save your family from losing your home. But a rumor has been going around about something else he was able to save. Something he left in his will, and I believe Naraku may be using you to get it." Ok, so it wasn't the whole truth, but it was enough to hopefully get her to trust him.

Kagome eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know all this?"

"I'm a businessman, Kagome. These are just things I hear from the news and other sources."

"Well, you obviously know more than I do. I only know he left me something."

Sesshoumaru sighed. He was relieved that he now no longer needed to worry about pressing the girl for information, but her lack of knowledge now meant that he had to protect her at all costs. He knew what her family 'treasure' was, and he knew the destruction that would come should it get into the hands of someone like Naraku Kagewaki. What he didn't know, however, was where said treasure was kept, and that irked him. And he had less than three days left.

_Three days._

"Kagome," he began, "its beginning to get late now. Let us head back to the hotel."

She nodded before he stood up and led her out of the restaurant and into the night.

* * *

"_What's the latest on the Higurashi girl?" _came the deep voice from the other line. 

"Not much. She refuses to give out any information."

"_Impossible." _The voice growled._ "The little twit practically trusts everyone. You pissed her off, didn't you?"_

"She wasn't cooperating." the other voice explained.

"_You're useless."_

The phone line went dead before the other person had a chance to reply.

"I'm not useless." he muttered venomously.

There was a knock on the door, immediately breaking the silence in the otherwise dark and nearly empty room.

"Enter."

The door opened, spilling some light from the hallway into the center of the room and onto the person sitting on the freshly made bed. He looked up at the doorway and scowled. "What do you want?"

"Guess who I just saw Higurashi with."

* * *

Sesshoumaru made sure Kagome got safely back up to her room as soon as they arrived at the hotel. Like every other night the two went out together, he held her tiny hand in his as they walked while making light conversation. If tonight was anything like the nights before, Kagome would have thought nothing of the simple gestures the man next to her made, but this time, after that internal argument with herself, she was more aware and astute as to what was happening. 

Before she would have never noticed how firm of a grip he had on her hand. It wasn't painful nor a turn off, but more like he was silently telling the world, "This is mine. I dare you to try and take her away from me." Nor would she have noticed the way his middle and index claws brushed lightly along the inside of her palm. The feeling alone sent shivers of excitement running up her spine.

'I can't believe I never noticed this before.' she silently cursed herself.

"Kagome," Sesshoumaru squeezed her hand before letting go. They were standing in front of the door to her room.

Kagome looked up at him and smiled. This was the part where he gave her a kiss on the cheek and bade her goodnight. She was more than ready for this and was close to tears when he took longer than usual. That was when she saw something else in his eyes. Her smile quickly faded into a look of concern.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

He gave her a gentle smile and shook his head, bringing his hand up to softly caress her cheek. "Nothing. However, tomorrow I must prepare for a series of meetings and will be unable to see you until Friday night."

Was that all? It didn't matter that she'd be separated from him for a day, though she would miss him all the same. "It's alright," she said, smiling again. "Its only one day. I could spend the extra time getting my presentation ready."

He nodded before slightly tilting his head to reach her level.

Kagome could hardly contain herself. 'This is it.'

Just before his lips connected with her red-tinted cheek, she put up her hand to stop him. Confused, he began to stand at his full height. She never refused him before. Why now?

For Kagome, no words needed to be exchanged. She carefully cupped his face in her hands and looked up into his eyes and then down to his lips, nervously biting her own.

'Ok. Now what?'

Sensing her hesitation, Sesshoumaru closed the gap between them, connecting her lips with his own. The girl was bold, just not quite enough. Still, he thanked every Kami she didn't turn him away.

He let his fingers slowly tangle themselves in her hair while hers similarly did the same. Almost every question he had as to what the woman before him tasted and felt like was answered in the moment she allowed his tongue to dance within her mouth, and he loved every second of it.

Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, as if he were her very life force, and pressed her lips as hard as she could to his as his body pressed her back against the door. She couldn't even stop the slight moan that escaped her lips when she felt his hips grind against hers.

Then, as quickly as it started, their little make-out session was put to a stop by the ringing of a phone. Namely the one in the pocket of Sesshoumaru's slacks. The bright sound of the ringer echoed throughout the empty hall, leaving a giggling Kagome in its wake.

Sesshoumaru sighed and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before pressing his forehead to hers. "I must take this call, but I wish you the best of luck on Friday. Until then," He kissed her once more, this time pressing his hips against hers in a promise as to what would come. By the time he pulled away, she was beet red and held a lustful look in her eyes.

"Goodnight." she whispered, opening her door and slipping inside the room. "Friday?"

He nodded. "Friday."

She smiled and softly closed her door, sliding back against it, giggling like a love-struck school girl.

"Not too bad for my first kiss."

* * *

"_Is Daddy going to come home soon?" _came the bouncy voice of young Rin as she conversed with her father over the phone. 

"Yes Rin. I have someone I'd like for you to meet." Sesshoumaru told her in his firm, yet gentle, voice meant only for her.

"_Really?!" _she squeaked, _"Rin has someone for Daddy to meet, too! His name is Shippou and Rin found him at the playground yesterday with Kaede-sama and he's Rin's best friend!"_

"Really now? Did he join you on the swings?" he asked, knowing that was Rin's favorite area of the playground.

"_Nope! Rin found him playing hide-and-seek behind the bathroom. He was crying, but then Rin gave him a flower and he was happy again!"_

"How unfortunate," Sesshoumaru started. Honestly, he couldn't have cared less about a child crying behind the bathrooms. The thing probably lost sight of his mother and panicked. He only ever concerned himself about Rin and her well being. "What happened after you gave him the flower?"

"_Kaede-sama let Rin bring him home! Now Rin and Shippou play hide-and-seek all over the house! Will you and your friend play with us, too, Daddy?" _

'What?!' It was one thing to find each other behind the bathroom in a park, but to allow a child into _his _home without _his _permission? The very thought was outrageous! And a _boy_ no less! "Rin, let me speak with Kaede right now." he left no room for argument. His daughter's caretaker had a lot of explaining to do.

---------------oO-O0---------------

"Oi! Ookami! Have you seen Kagome?" A very stressed out Inuyasha came barging in through the meeting room doors the next morning to where Kouga, Hitomi and Naraku were going over several stock options.

"I haven't seen her since-"

"I'm right here, Inuyasha." came the tired voice of Kagome. She had just entered the room, a small cup of coffee and bagel in hand. "Sorry I'm late. They ran out of chocolate chip bagels so I had to get you cinnamon."

Three pairs of eyes darted from Kagome to a now embarrassed Inuyasha. He quickly swiped the bagel from her and stormed off, muttering something about checking up on the other students.

Naraku only eyed the girl. "Buying your way to the top, I see. Nice work, Higurashi."

"I learned only from the best, Kagewaki." she replied sarcastically, walking to her chair.

Both Hitomi and Kouga could feel the onset of a headache and gave each other wary glances.

"I believe our main goal at TIEF is to teach our students to reach the top by actually using their _brains_, Higurashi. I'm actually quite surprised you made it this far with the way your profile was done…"

"And you think I sold my body to get here." she stated more than asked. After her talk with Sango the night before, Kagome refused to let Naraku play his little game with her, and she was more than prepared for him. "Sorry to burst your bubble Naraku, but I got here just like everyone else did. Inuyasha is my friend, just like Kouga, and I was simply returning a favor."

"And what kind of favor was that, if I may be as so bold as to ask?" he said, lifting a brow.

"I don't believe that is any of your business." she countered.

"Oh, but I believe it is." he smiled. "You know, it is strictly against the rules to have one of our employees sleeping with the students-"

"No one is sleeping with anyone." she ground out.

"And as your instructor, I must make sure my student adheres to our rules, lest she want to risk being kicked out of the program for improper conduct." he said, ignoring her previous statement.

"Naraku, that is enough." Hitomi said, trying to put a halt to their conversation.

Naraku held up his hand. "I am merely looking out for my student."

"Bullshit."

Naraku's eyes went wide. "Miss Higurashi! I am quite surprised at your choice of words!"

Unable to sit through the seemingly endless argument, Kouga quickly stood up, knocking his chair over, and slammed his palms hard on the desk in front of him, grabbing the attention of everyone. "Enough! Kagome isn't sleeping with anyone here! _Now leave her alone._"

Naraku glared at the boy who stood roughly the same height as him. "I see you've got Mr. Ookami under your spell, Higurashi."

"I ain't under anybody's spell!" Kouga growled.

"Right. My mistake." he sneered, "Prideful Ookamis."

"You're damn right." Kouga stated proudly. "And if you know anymore about my family, you'd shut your mouth right now if you know what's good for you."

"Is that a threat?"

"Nara-"

"Stop harassing my students."

All heads turned around to see Inuyasha enter the room again, this time with a bag of dry cleaning in one hand and a half eaten bagel in the other. He set the plastic wrapped clothes down next to Kagome and motioned for Kouga to sit down.

"Let these kids focus on what they came here for. Its hard enough trying to figure out how to organize all the numbers n' shit." he turned around and looked at Hitomi, Kouga, and Kagome all sitting at the table and nodded. "Naraku, pack your things. I'll have a ticket headed for Japan waiting for you in the lobby."

Stuffing the rest of his bagel into his mouth, he turned around and walked off. Just as he reached the doorframe, he turned around and looked back at Naraku, who stood glaring at the silver-haired boy in front of him. "Oi! Naraku! I just fired you. Get out!"

"Hanyou filth!" he spat back. Inuyasha only laughed.

"You think that still bugs me? I lived with Sesshoumaru, remember? You'll have to try a lot harder. As of right now, you no longer have a job with Taisho Industries."

With a blank look on her face, Kagome looked over at Kouga, hoping he could have some kind of explanation for her. "Hanyou?"

Kouga looked back and gave her a fanged smile. "You know, half-demon?"

"Demon?" she nearly gasped. The only demons she knew of existed in fairytales, not real life.

"There are a lot more out there than you think." he laughed.

* * *

**OOOOO I do hope I left you wanting more!!! I'm simply in LOVE with the way my twisted little brain is developing the plot. I already know how the next three chapters are going to turn out, I'm just trying to squeeze in the time to write them. **

**Reviews are welcome and very appreciated, but not necessary for the story to continue.  
I'd rather not see a flame unless the reviewer can provide an adequate explanation as to why they feel anything was flame worthy.**

**Thank you for those who simply continue reading the story! I love you guys!  
:D**

**-VG-**


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